Equine oral microbiology

Until recently, equine oral microbiology was a relatively unexplored field. The role of bacteria in both oral health and in oral diseases such as periodontitis and dental caries has long been acknowledged in brachydont species such as humans, dogs and cats.
The ecological community of bacteria, both commensal and pathogenic, inhabiting the oral cavity is known as the oral microbiome and has been well studied in humans. By 2010, the Human Oral Microbiome Database (HOMD) included approximately 700 prokaryote species that can be present in the human oral cavity. Recent work has also began to characterise the equine and donkey oral microbiome in order to gain a better understanding how these microbial communities are involved in maintaining oral health and also their potential role in the pathogenesis of a variety of equine oral diseases. Technical advances, especially the increased availability of molecular microbiology techniques have allowed insights into this previously neglected area.